RENA DELBRIDGE Star-Tribune correspondent | Posted: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 12:00 am
When millions of spectators watch the 20 cars of the Indy Racing League in 2007, those high-performance machines will for the first time ever be powered by 100 percent ethanol fuel - all of it from a Wyoming plant.
Renova Energy, with a production facility in Torrington, was selected to provide about 120,000 gallons of corn-based ethanol fuel to the open-wheel IRL cars for 2007. That's big news from a Wyoming company, and an exciting opportunity to highlight the small southeastern Wyoming town and ease future customers into optimism about consumer-grade ethanol fuel.
"This means Wyoming is on the map," said Dan Schwartzkopf, senior vice president of operations for Renova Energy. "The Indy Racing League is probably one of the largest spectator sports in America today, with the Indy 500 having more than a quarter-million people in the audience. And now, we're the 2007 fuel suppliers for the Indy Racing League."
The contract has hidden benefits for Wyoming and for the ethanol industry, Schwartzkopf said. Racing fans will see high performance from a clean, renewable fuel, and should be more willing to make the switch as well at the gas pumps.
The new fuel was tested this fall at Daytona International Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Iowa Speedway, resulting in what promoters are calling a "seamless" transition. With those strong results, the IRL actually downsized the race cars' fuel tanks from 27 to 22 gallons because of the better mileage achieved with ethanol, IRL spokesman John Griffin said. That will in turn allow pit stops for tire changes and fueling to coincide.
The ethanol-IndyCar Series partnership started in 2005 with an announcement that the league would go to 100 percent ethanol for the 2007 season, Griffin said. Previously, the late driver Paul Dana had raced with an ethanol sponsorship and encouraged the league to make the transition from methanol.
"Paul Dana was one of the main promoters in getting ethanol into the Indy league," Schwartzkopf said. "I think we have him to thank for where we are today. We want to carry the torch on and forward for him."
Honda, which supplies all the IRL 3.5 liter V-8 engines, worked closely with the league and Renova to develop the fuel, Griffin said. The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council recommended Renova to the IRL, which found racing experience between Schwartzkopf and his son, Jamie Schwartzkopf, invaluable.
"They really played a significant role in terms of working with us and working with Honda in experimenting with different levels of ethanol and how engines reacted to it," he said.
The contract was borne partially out of the father-son's relationship racing ethanol-powered vehicles. The duo have raced National Hot Rod Association cars for at least 13 years together. Each year they get behind the ethanol-powered wheels of the six-car Renova Energy team, aiming for points in races across the nation and scoring praise for ethanol use.
With Wyoming's ethanol producer advertised as the IRL fuel provider, Schwartzkopf is optimistic that consumers will see the power, efficiency and environmentally clean fuel in a new light, and be more willing to purchase an ethanol blend at the gas pumps.
"This takes all the questions of ethanol's use away," Schwartzkopf said. "It's just proof of the pudding."
Renova produces 10 million gallons of ethanol annually, with new construction planned soon for a 20 million-gallon plant in Idaho. The Torrington plant recently doubled its production capacity from 5 million to 12 million gallons a year.
The IndyCar Series has 16 U.S. events slated for 2007, with another race in Japan, and is the first racing series to use 100 percent ethanol fuel.